


Extending Yourself

by littlealex



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Gen, Hair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-06
Updated: 2012-07-06
Packaged: 2017-11-09 06:43:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/452472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlealex/pseuds/littlealex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's something about getting back to your roots...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Extending Yourself

**Author's Note:**

> This is just about the longest thing I have ever had to write. And obviously I don't mean the length, I mean the actual amount of time it took me to write this. But in the end, I was inspired by both a reintroduction to the amazing life of Arashi, as well as the departure of my long-loved friend [](http://waxrose.livejournal.com/profile)[**waxrose**](http://waxrose.livejournal.com/). This is officially for her [](http://help-japan.livejournal.com/profile)[**help_japan**](http://help-japan.livejournal.com/) request - Asia Tour-era Jun with extensions. This isn't anything we ever talked about, but it just came to me. I hope it works. ♥

As soon as Jun debuted with Arashi, he knew that there wouldn't be many chances to make his own choices - everything from weight to clothes to how many times a day he cleaned his teeth would be regulated by the agency, and for the most part he didn't mind. He could still watch his weight and have a bowl of ice cream every now and then, and they could throw him in any outfit because he knew he could go back to sweatpants and a threadbare t-shirt as soon as he got home. But the one thing that started to bug him, after a while, was the lack of control over his hair. There was always some mold to fit: dramas, movies, PVs, or just a new look for the group. It was a small thing, but when Jun's grip on his own personal self-image was strained, it was a bigger deal than ever.

So when filming for Hana Yori Dango wrapped, and he felt the need to shake all of the Domyoji out of his bones, he spent some time flipping through fashion magazines at random combinis to get ideas. He could only use his imagination for so long, though, so eventually he enlisted Ohno's help, once he had assurances of his complete discretion.

"Did you ask Kuro-chan?" Ohno mumbled, hunched over a piece of paper, nose dangerously close to getting hit by his pencil. Jun made a face and sat back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest.

"Ask," he scoffed. But he didn't really have a tirade in him, so he just shook his head. "No, I haven't told him. I'm going to show him this picture before I go, though, so you'd better do a good job."

Ohno smiled to himself and didn't say anything for a while. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, Jun giving him pointers every now and then until the headshot started to take shape. Ohno leaned back to survey the drawing, and then looked up at Jun. "Who are you trying to look like?"

Jun looked back at Ohno and just smiled. "Myself."

\---

Jun went into the agency on his day off to speak to their manager about the decision. He took Ohno's drawing and had a notepad with a few scrawled notes to himself in his bag which he reviewed in the taxi ride over, but in the end, it was all sort of futile.

"I just wanted to talk about something," Jun said vaguely as he sat down in front of their chief manager's desk. Kuro was a nice guy - strict, of course, but Jun knew that he understood the pressures of the job, and he honestly tried to make things best for both them and the agency. Kuro smiled encouragingly and Jun put the drawing on his otherwise entirely cluttered desk.

Kuro looked at the paper briefly before picking it up, but Jun didn't expect to see any flicker of thoughts cross his face. If there was one thing Jun could say that differentiated Kuro from other managers was the he never judged. He would disapprove, but it only ever felt like an agency thing, nothing personal, and Jun had always been thankful for it. He spent a moment looking at the drawing before putting it down and looking over at Jun.

"I don't see what difference it makes," he said. Jun began to smile, but waited as he saw Kuro take another breath. "Personally, I think it will fit with 'Aozora Pedaru'. That should be a more... natural Arashi."

\---

Part of him wanted to bring someone with him when he went to the hair salon. Ohno, maybe, since he already knew, or his sister, for familial moral support, but he didn't. In the end, he knew that the only way to do it was alone.

" _I'm going under the knife!_ " he sent to the other members, and put his phone in his bag before handing it over to be stored away in lockers. This was alone time, and after he had explained his vision to his favorite stylist, he asked that there be no small talk. He was going to enjoy the process of his transformation, out from the shackles of Domyoji, who still lingered despite the months that had passed, so he just sat back and watched himself change before his own eyes.

The whole process took nearly four hours, with a good moisturizing treatment for his own hair, the weaving in of the extensions, and putting the whole look together exactly as he described it. It wasn't the longest that Jun had ever spent at the salon, but it was quality time spent by himself and, most importantly, for himself. He occasionally got massages, but never for so long, and his days off were usually spent productively, too, learning lines or lyrics or exercising or anything other than pampering himself. He closed his eyes, occasionally, just to listen to the activity around him and the blood rushing past his ears.

Without Tomo-kun talking, he was alone with his thoughts, and he started to process some of the things he hadn't let himself think about for a while. His role as Domyoji, for one, and what it meant both to his career and his personality. He knew he'd changed while filming, and he hated it. It wasn't as though he felt forced into adopting Domyoji's personality, but the traits he'd inherited just made him irritable and stressed him out. He knew there was a very good chance that there would be a sequel, but there were going to be singles, concerts, maybe even dramas between now and then; it wasn't worth worrying about.

This was his first step towards putting it all behind him, and it was the biggest step he could take in his own direction.

\--

He ignored the repeated pleas of the other members to send photos, mysteriously replying "It is done" no matter what they said. He only did this because they had _G no Arashi_ filming together the next day; they could wait.

He turned up to filming earlier than anyone else the next day. He sat cross-legged at the table, snacking on dried mango slices and reading the latest Wink Up message boards, idly playing with the long strands of hair that splashed over his shoulders. There was something infinitely relaxing about the whole moment, though he couldn't deny a slight tingling in the base of his spine - part excitement, part trepidation - at the niggling thought of the others' reactions.

The first to show up was Ohno, which relieved Jun to no end. "Leader," he said, grinning despite himself, impatient for some sort of reaction.

"Just like you said." Ohno smiled and shuffled over to sit down next to Jun. "I like it better than my drawing," he said, reaching out to comb his fingers through the long locks. "Hey, it feels just like your hair."

Before Jun could answer, the door opened again and Aiba and Nino entered the room at the same time, eagerly searching Jun out to get a glimpse of the new haircut first. Their eyes widened at the same time, but Jun could see that what was coming from each of them would be totally different. Aiba dropped his bag and nudged his shoes off before moving quickly to sit on Jun's other side to get a closer look. Nino, on the other hand, remained at the doorway for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest in consideration. Ohno let his fingers drop from Jun's head and made his way to the snack table so that Nino could see better, but it didn't help.

"What are you thinking, Nino?" Jun asked, trying to catch Nino's eyes. Nino wouldn't look at him for a moment, but when he did, the feeling shot straight to Jun's heart, and he could feel the smile before it fell over Nino's mouth.

"I'm just wondering how I'll adjust to seeing the real Jun in the studio from now on," Nino replied, unfolding his arms and coming to sit beside Aiba. The smile Jun gave him was small, but true, and they both shared a moment before Aiba interrupted, launching himself onto Jun's side and grabbing at his hair.

"It's not real, but how is it done? Extensions are weird, right? How did it happen, was it painful? Oh my gosh, does Kuropi even know?" Aiba's words came faster than his thoughts, as they usually did, and Jun playfully batted him back, but didn't ask him to stop touching the hair. He could barely stop himself, and he ran his hands through the extensions as he looked at Aiba and smiled out of the corner of his mouth.

"It's fine," he said, nodding in reassurance. Aiba nodded back and didn't ask any more questions, but moved to sift his fingers through the new locks as well.

The four of them sat in silence for a moment, and Jun was almost ready to look back at his magazine when the opened the door. His heart did a little jump, and when he looked up, Sho was taking his headphones off and smiling.

"Really, Jun? You say you're getting a haircut and your hair gets longer?" Sho smirked, and Jun kind of wanted to throw something at him, but that was the way he knew he was feeling most fond of Sho. Jun pretended to frown, but the smile beneath it ruined the effect so he slapped the magazine in front of him shut. "It's good," Sho replied, shedding his bag and shoes before sitting down at the table. "Very Jun."

Ohno joined them with a plate of fruit, kneeling at the opposite end of the table. The room was silent for a moment, and Jun wasn't sure whether he should address the room. Instead, Ohno took a mikan and started peeling it. "This is the best," he said. "We might not get another chance to be who we are, and I think... I think that right now, we are as close to the truth as we can be."


End file.
